Rapid Mood Screener (RMS)
Are you among the millions of people who have depressive symptoms? Answer the
following questionnaire about your medical history and provide it to your doctor or nurse to
assist in an important conversation about your mood.
Please select one response for each question. You can complete the RMS in less than
2 minutes.
Patient Name _________________________________ Date ________________
YES NO
1. Have there been at least 6 different periods of time (at least 2 weeks)
when you felt deeply depressed?
2. Did you have problems with depression before the age of 18?
3. Have you ever had to stop or change your antidepressant because it
made you highly irritable or hyper?
4. Have you ever had a period of at least 1 week during which you were
more talkative than normal with thoughts racing in your head?
5. Have you ever had a period of at least 1 week during which you
felt any of the following: unusually happy; unusually outgoing; or
unusually energetic?
6. Have you ever had a period of at least 1 week during which you
needed much less sleep than usual?
RMS Copyright © 2020 AbbVie. All rights reserved.
AbbVie Medical
Rapid Mood Screener (RMS)
GUIDE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
Approximately 70% of patients with bipolar I disorder (BP-I) are initially misdiagnosed,
with a mean delay of 5 to 10 years between illness onset and diagnosis. Most
commonly patients are misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD).1,2
The Rapid Mood Screener (RMS) was developed by a team of multidisciplinary experts
(primary care clinician, psychiatry nurse practitioner, psychiatrists, pharmacist,
behavioral therapists, psychometricians and health economists) to provide a pragmatic
approach to address the need for timely and accurate evaluation of bipolar disorder.
The screener was validated in a study of patients with BP-I and MDD.3
Clinical Utility
The RMS is a brief self-report screening instrument for BP-I that should take less than 2
minutes to complete. A positive screen should be followed by a comprehensive
evaluation.
Scoring & validity*
“YES” responses to 4 or more of the 6 items is considered a positive screen providing
high confidence for BP-I, with an estimated 88% sensitivity, 80% specificity, and 84%
accuracy
Sensitivity = percentage of patients who have BP-I disorder that are correctly identified
as positive
Specificity = percentage of patients who do not have BP-I and who are correctly
identified as negative
Accuracy = percentage of patients correctly predicted as BP-I or not
*“YES” to 3 or more of the 6 items also suggests a higher likelihood of BP-I than MDD with an estimated
97% sensitivity, 59% specificity, and 77% accuracy
1. Hirschfeld, RM et al. J Clin Psychiatry. 2003; 64(2):161-174.
2. Berk M, et al. J Affect Disord. 2007;103(1-3):181-186.
3. McIntyre RS, et al. Curr Med Res Opin. 2020 (in press).
RMS Copyright © 2020 AbbVie. All rights reserved.
AbbVie Medical
